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Walter Chiavacci
Witness for prosecution. Mr. Chiavacci, a volunteer firefighter at the time of the alleged relationship between suspended Old Forge Police Chief Larry Semenza and the victim, was also charged with sexually assaulting her, but has pleaded guilty to indecent assault in a deal with the DA.

Walter Chiavacci said he knew Larry Semenza was doing something wrong when he witnessed him jimmy a bathroom door so he could watch a 15-year-old girl shower inside the Old Forge Fire Department.

He knew it was wrong, he said, when he saw the now-suspended Old Forge police chief press his body against the girl and run his hand up her skirt.

And he knew it was wrong, he said, when he encountered the pair cuddled under a blanket on a fire station couch.

But Mr. Chiavacci never confronted the chief or went to police, he said, because he also knew something else: the longtime police officer and firefighter wielded immense power that could destroy his life.

"I was afraid to tell anyone anything because of how he manipulates people," Mr. Chiavacci testified Thursday. "He made me feel like I couldn't go to authorities because he had all this power."

The testimony provided the most gripping moments in the third day of Chief Semenza's trial in Lackawanna County Court on charges he sexually abused the teenage girl from 2004 trough 2007, when she was a junior firefighter at an Old Forge fire company where he served as a captain. Charges were filed in May 2012 after the woman, now 24, came forward.

The Times-Tribune does not identify alleged victims of sexual assault.

Mr. Chiavacci, 48, was among seven witnesses prosecutors called Thursday, five of whom testified about encounters they witnessed between the chief, who is on trial on charges of aggravated indecent assault, indecent assault, corruption of minors and several related offenses.

Mr. Chiavacci was lifelong friend of Chief Semenza's. The chief, 49, had allowed Mr. Chiavacci to live rent-free at the fire department for years, he said, and he feared he might be thrown out if he dared challenge him.

Under a sometimes heated cross-examination by defense attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr., Mr. Chiavacci admitted he initially told police he never witnessed any "personal intimacy" between the chief and the teen. He did not reveal any information until after he reached a plea deal for charges filed against him for fondling the same girl on one occasion in 2004. He pleaded guilty in December 2012 to one count of indecent assault and is awaiting sentencing.

Asked by Assistant District Attorney Mariclare Hayes to explain his silence, Mr. Chiavacci said he withheld the information because he continued to fear the chief, whom he described as having a "Jekyll and Hyde" personality.

"He would manipulate you and put you down and make you feel real bad," Mr. Chiavacci said. "I was afraid to tell anyone because of the power he had."

Prosecutors called Mr. Chiavacci and five other witnesses to help corroborate statements of the alleged victim, who testified Wednesday of how Chief Semenza showered her with gifts and attention, leading to her to develop a romantic relationship with him. Prosecutors say the chief fondled the girl's breasts and buttocks and twice touched her genitals over the course of their relationship.

Lackawanna County Detective Chris Kolcharno testified authorities recovered receipts they believe are for gifts and firefighting gear Chief Semenza bought for the girl. Four other prosecution witnesses detailed sexually-charged incidents they witnessed between the chief and the girl.

Alysha Englert, a friend of the alleged victim, testified she once saw her friend and the chief kissing in the kitchen at the police station. Kimberly Zupon, one of Chief Semenza's two ex-wives, and her husband, Michael, told of how they once ran into the chief and the alleged victim in the undergarment department of a Dickson City department store.

Michael Zupon said he saw Chief Semenza holding a red thong up against the girl's body and heard him comment, "these would look sexy on you." Questioned by Mr. Olszewski, Mr. Zupon acknowledged he did not mention the chief's comments in a written statement he initially gave police.

Mr. Olszewski also attacked the testimony of Stephen Lowe, a former Old Forge police officer who claims he witnessed the chief and the girl cuddled on a couch, and once saw him pressing his body against the alleged victim's buttocks as she stood in the firehouse kitchen.

Mr. Lowe also told of an incident at the Old Forge Police Department, when the chief, using an obscene term, said he wanted to take the girl into the fire station to have sex with her. Mr. Lowe said he had reported that incident to Frank Avvisato, the police chief at the time, who is now deceased, but never took the matter any further.

Mr. Olszewski questioned the credibility of Mr. Lowe, who had been fired from the police department by Chief Semenza in 2008. He also noted Thursday was the first time Mr. Lowe had mentioned he had reported the incident to Chief Avvisato.

Testimony will resume at 9 a.m. today before Judge Vito Geroulo.

Contact the writer: tbesecker@timesshamrock.com

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